A great way to help improve learning outcomes for students is to use Graphic Organizers. Graphic Organizers are instructional tools that illustrate a text or a topic by providing templates, maps, charts or frames.
10 out of 12 studies that investigate the effects of Graphic Organizers reported a positive learning outcome.
According to Jay McTighe’s book Graphic Organizers: Collaborative Link to a Better Thinking,he outlined three ways that teachers and students can use graphic organizers in the class. Before instructionTeachers may use a graphic organizer to attempt to provide structure for the presentation of new material while indicating relations between ideas. Teachers can elicit information from students by creating a graphic organizer on the blackboard to get an accurate idea of students’ prior knowledge During instruction
Graphic organizers can help students to actively isolate, process and reorganize key information. This is because graphic organizers allow students to approach subjects cognitively because they assist thinking. The student must take an active role in learning while processing and reorganizing information. Modifying an organized structure of information gives students an opportunity to learn from their own mistakes. It also allows students to construct maps that are appropriate to their individual learning styles. After instructionStudents can construct their own organizers using the full text to isolate and organize key concepts. This summarization technique is a tool to see if students can interpret what was being taught and state it in concise, accurate terms. Post-instruction graphic organizers also encourage elaboration. If a student can connect prior knowledge with what was learned and identify relationships between those ideas, they are actively learning. When introducing students to a new graphic organizer, you should describe its purpose, model its use, and provide students with opportunities for guided practice. Once students become comfortable with using the organizer, more independent applications are appropriate. In the end, you should encourage and assist students to create their own organizers.
Types of Graphic Organizers
Descriptive or Thematic Map- These work well for mapping generic information; particularly well for mapping hierarchical relationships. Network Tree- Used for organizing a hierarchical set of information, makes reflecting superordinate or subordinate elements easier. Spider Map -When the information relating to a main idea or theme does not fit into a hierarchy. Problem and Solution Map – Useful when information contains cause and effect problems and solutions. Problem-Solution Outline- Helps students to compare different solutions to a problem. Sequential Episodic Map- Useful for mapping cause and effect. Fishbone Map -When cause-effect relationships are complex and non-redundant this may be particularly useful. Comparative and Contrastive Map- Can help students to compare and contrast two concepts according to their features. Compare-Contrast Matrix-Another way to compare concepts' attributes is to construct. Continuum Scale -Effective for organizing information along a dimension such as less to more, low to high, and few to many. Series of Events Chain- Helps students organize information according to various steps or stages. Cycle Map- Useful for organizing information that is circular or cyclical, with no absolute beginning or ending. Human Interaction Outline- Effective for organizing events in terms of a chain of action and reaction (especially useful in social sciences and humanities). Venn Diagram- Shows all possible logical relations between collections of data sets.
Videos
In this video, a teacher explains how she uses Graphic Organizers- Venn Diagram
In this video, Jim Burke talks about using Graphic Organizers to help students.
References
Hall, T., & Strangman, N. (2002). Graphic organizers. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved [insert date] from http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_go.html
A great way to help improve learning outcomes for students is to use Graphic Organizers. Graphic Organizers are instructional tools that illustrate a text or a topic by providing templates, maps, charts or frames.
10 out of 12 studies that investigate the effects of Graphic Organizers reported a positive learning outcome.
According to Jay McTighe’s book Graphic Organizers: Collaborative Link to a Better Thinking,he outlined three ways that teachers and students can use graphic organizers in the class.
Before instructionTeachers may use a graphic organizer to attempt to provide structure for the presentation of new material while indicating relations between ideas. Teachers can elicit information from students by creating a graphic organizer on the blackboard to get an accurate idea of students’ prior knowledge
During instruction
Graphic organizers can help students to actively isolate, process and reorganize key information. This is because graphic organizers allow students to approach subjects cognitively because they assist thinking. The student must take an active role in learning while processing and reorganizing information. Modifying an organized structure of information gives students an opportunity to learn from their own mistakes. It also allows students to construct maps that are appropriate to their individual learning styles.
After instructionStudents can construct their own organizers using the full text to isolate and organize key concepts. This summarization technique is a tool to see if students can interpret what was being taught and state it in concise, accurate terms. Post-instruction graphic organizers also encourage elaboration. If a student can connect prior knowledge with what was learned and identify relationships between those ideas, they are actively learning. When introducing students to a new graphic organizer, you should describe its purpose, model its use, and provide students with opportunities for guided practice. Once students become comfortable with using the organizer, more independent applications are appropriate. In the end, you should encourage and assist students to create their own organizers.
Types of Graphic Organizers
Descriptive or Thematic Map- These work well for mapping generic information; particularly well for mapping hierarchical relationships.
Network Tree- Used for organizing a hierarchical set of information, makes reflecting superordinate or subordinate elements easier.
Spider Map -When the information relating to a main idea or theme does not fit into a hierarchy.
Problem and Solution Map – Useful when information contains cause and effect problems and solutions.
Problem-Solution Outline- Helps students to compare different solutions to a problem.
Sequential Episodic Map- Useful for mapping cause and effect.
Fishbone Map -When cause-effect relationships are complex and non-redundant this may be particularly useful.
Comparative and Contrastive Map- Can help students to compare and contrast two concepts according to their features.
Compare-Contrast Matrix-Another way to compare concepts' attributes is to construct.
Continuum Scale -Effective for organizing information along a dimension such as less to more, low to high, and few to many.
Series of Events Chain- Helps students organize information according to various steps or stages.
Cycle Map- Useful for organizing information that is circular or cyclical, with no absolute beginning or ending.
Human Interaction Outline- Effective for organizing events in terms of a chain of action and reaction (especially useful in social sciences and humanities).
Venn Diagram- Shows all possible logical relations between collections of data sets.
Web Site Links
The following links are to are sites that have many great templates of Graphic Organizers for teachers and students:
http://www.eduplace.com/graphicorganizer/
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hme/k_5/graphorg/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/graphicorganizers/
Videos
In this video, a teacher explains how she uses Graphic Organizers- Venn Diagram
In this video, Jim Burke talks about using Graphic Organizers to help students.
References
Hall, T., & Strangman, N. (2002). Graphic organizers. Wakefield, MA: National Center on Accessing the General Curriculum. Retrieved [insert date] from http://www.cast.org/publications/ncac/ncac_go.html
"Instructional Strategies Online - Graphic Organizers." Online Learning Centre. Web. 07 July 2010. <http://olc.spsd.sk.ca/de/pd/instr/strats/graphicorganizers/index.html>.